News:

"There is a terrible desperation to the increasingly pathetic rationalizations from the climate denial camp. This comes as no surprise if you take the long view; every single undone paradigm in history has died kicking and screaming, and our current petroleum paradigm 🐉🦕🦖 is no different. The trick here is trying to figure out how we all make it to the new ⚡ paradigm without dying ☠️ right along with the old one, kicking, screaming or otherwise." - William Rivers Pitt

Posted by: AGelbert

... Funds are unloading because people don't trust trump and are pulling out of the funds. They are liquidating. The Funds have no choice but to sell the bottom.

Trump's always looking for imaginary blame for his own crap head policies. 3000 economist and 14 Nobel Laureats told Trump in writing that his dumb tariffs would destroy the economy. Trump and his team of poodles have been watching the decline. The destruction of the farmer, destruction of housing, destruction of the auto industry. Plant closing etc. Then Kudlow comes out and says the economy is humming. People know better. They go into Brick and Mortar stores this week and wonder why there are no customers.

Trump has been back half a dozen times damaging and manipulating markets over China Trade. They spew s******** the markets rise then a poodle like Kudlow comes in the next day and says nobody is talking and markets tank. Well the day of ******** from Trump and his poodles is over. Investors have lost confidence and that spells recession.

Institutional investors are selling because they have to. People are pulling their money out of Trump's ******** markets and economy.

Listen to those rich smaht guys and BUY. BUY. BUY BITCOIN! GET DAT MONEY! YOUSE GOTTA HAVE MORE MONEY!

It's not enough for Eddie to be $Rich$ 🤑. He needs to be a Master of the Universe before he retires.

RE

Well, we all have our hopes and dreams. Some are reality based; others are, uh, see below:

December 18, 2018

SNIPPET:

Quote

“Famous market observer Art Cashin mentioned a metaphor in October 2017 that resonated with me. He said (words to the effect that) at that moment, market players had only the protection provided by pictures of lifeboats, not the lifeboats themselves. This is just like the Titanic, whose measly 16 lifeboats looked nice, but left many hundreds on board with no means of escape when the ship sank. That is the current market situation in a nutshell. Players seem to believe that their positions are diversified enough to protect them in a downturn, and in any case, many appear to expect no major drawdown in spite of many months of extreme volatility. I would argue that the risk is far greater than perceived by many, and the protections most have in place are quite inadequate.”

Posted by: AGelbert

“Famous market observer Art Cashin mentioned a metaphor in October 2017 that resonated with me. He said (words to the effect that) at that moment, market players had only the protection provided by pictures of lifeboats, not the lifeboats themselves. This is just like the Titanic, whose measly 16 lifeboats looked nice, but left many hundreds on board with no means of escape when the ship sank. That is the current market situation in a nutshell. Players seem to believe that their positions are diversified enough to protect them in a downturn, and in any case, many appear to expect no major drawdown in spite of many months of extreme volatility. I would argue that the risk is far greater than perceived by many, and the protections most have in place are quite inadequate.”

Posted by: AGelbert

Utoob is full of these young guys doing crypto analysis videos. I had just watched one by his partner about a crypto I was interested in, and it was decent, so when I saw this new one a little while ago, I gave it a look. He gets a lot of things right, imho.

A long time ago (2014), MKing argued that SLB was a buy because it had allegedly hit bottom. SLB was at around $79 a share then. Below, please observe, the cartoon I posted then.

IMHO, It applies to BITCOIN as well. BUT, don't listen to an old retired Socialist who could care less about those smaht guys who just wannna be richer and richer . Listen to those rich smaht guys and BUY. BUY. BUY BITCOIN! GET DAT MONEY! YOUSE GOTTA HAVE MORE MONEY!

Created December 25, 2014

United States SCHLUMBERGER NV (SLB) 🦕

12/18 02:39:53 pm SLB 38.005 USD -2.68%

Posted by: AGelbert

“A potential revolutionary situation exists in any country where the government consistently fails in its obligation to ensure a least a minimally decent standard of life for the great majority of its citizens." You will never guess who wrote this in 1961. BUT, when you find out, if you are a CAPITALIST "might is right" IDEOLOGUE, you will stubbornly (and erroneously) pretend it is only true in China, while ignoring the FACT that it is much more applicable in Europe and the USA today.

Quote

Millions of French citizens have been violently demonstrating across France for the last month.

They are known as the gilets jaunes, or "yellow jackets". The protestors wear the yellow high-viz jacket, that is common on building sites and airports.

France: Understanding the Gilets Jaunes Uprising

by Rex

Mon, December 10, 2018

SNIPPET 1:The vast majority haven't been told the truth about life for ordinary citizens, in France. As a result, they don’t understand the significance of the violent ‘gilets jaunes’ protests across the country. Having lived in France for years, REX explains why these are the most important protests in France since 1968 - and likely a beacon for citizens all across Europe.

SNIPPET 2:In other words - why are millions of French citizens on the rampage, right now?

Because there’s a real France, that few ever see.

The France of the gilets jaunes. Or as we might label them, les deplorables.

And they are in a state of fury at a ruling class who not only let the population suffer, while enjoying a life of luxury and wealth, but who also blame ordinary people for their own suffering.

SNIPPET 3:

The French Ruling Class

Many still understand France through the lens of Vogue magazine covers: a nation of affluent, happy people who live in elegant homes, with endless holidays, wine and food.

A 24/7 utopia of chic, elegance and style.

Important to note: that France does exist. It is the world of the French ruling class, less than 1% of the population.

This small group of citizens have dominated the business, banking, legal and political scenes for decades.

The ruling class comes from a small group of grandes ecoles, or elite colleges. There are only 3 or 4. The top of the top? L’Ecole d’Administration Nationale (ENA).

Emmanuel Macron’s journey is typical of the ruliing class. He completed a Master's of Public Affairs at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (called "Sciences Po"), the #2 elite college, before graduating from ENA in 2004, age 27. He then worked as a senior civil servant at the Inspectorate General of Finances (The Treasury), before getting a high paid gig ad an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque.

See how fast Macron worked his way into the senior civil servant position in the Treasury, before flipping into an exclusive investment bank? That is normal in France. It's a never-ending protected cycle of patronage, promotion, favors and cronyism.

Agelbert NOTE: IOW, it's the CAPITALISM, stupid!

Quote

"Capitalist ideology claims that the world is perfectly ordered and everybody is in their place (i..e. everybody gets what they deserve). This self legitmating aspect of Capitalism is Socially Catastrophic. This is the Victorian view of the world." Rob Urie - Author " Zen Economics"

Many of the Yellow Vests have flat-out rejected Macron's proposals, according to European-Views.

He is trying to do a pirouette to land back on his feet but we can see that he isn’t sincere, that it’s all smoke and mirrors,” said Jean-Marc, a car mechanic as a gathering of some 150 Yellow Vests in the southern town of Le Boulou.

“It’s just window dressing, for the media, some trivial measures, it almost seems like a provocation,” said Thierry, 55, a bicycle mechanic.

“All this is cinema, it doesn’t tackle the problems of substance. “We’re really wound up, we’re going back to battle,” he told AFP before taking part in blocking the Boulou turnpike on the French-Spanish border.

“Maybe if Macron had made this speech three weeks ago, it would have calmed the movement, but now it’s too late. For us, this speech is nonsense,” said Gaetan, 34, one of the “Rennes Lapins Jaunes” (Yellow Rabbits of Rennes).

One 35-year-old French official said that Macron "is being held hostage so he drops some crumbs."

Notice Macron's age, when he became a senior civil servant - 27 years of age. That’s important. The French elites are young men and women, who have been told that they are not just the intellectual creme de la creme, but morally superior. Better human beings, than their inferiors.These people are arrogant. But they are also ignorant. Raised in very wealthy families and cosseted in the networks those families are part of, they have no understanding of ordinary people and their real lives. Arrogance and ignorance is a very toxic mix. Macron’s tone-deaf appeal to climate change to justify the rise in diesel taxes, as well as his outrageous suggestion that ordinary French folk must drive less, is a classic example of the problem.

Just 27 years old. Young people without life experience, are suggestible. They believe what they are told by superiors and haven’t yet had time to test their opinions, against reality. Macron simply doesn’t have a clue.

What makes the gilets jaunes protests unique? Their main gripe? Elites blaming ordinary people, for problems that the same elites have caused. Elites never being held accountable for their incompetence. And elites never having to experience the conditions, that their failed ideas cause.

Proverbs 1 KJV31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Posted by: AGelbert

Agelbert NOTE: The following truth filled comment was made in regard to the avalanche of Trumptard 🐵🐒🦍 comments 🙉🙊 on the linked article:

Quote

Expat 👍 😎

just to be clear: Trumpturds are whining like little b i t c h e s not because the Trump Organization(s) are corrupt, but because they believe the Clinton Foundation is corrupt and therefore Trump should be allowed to do whatever he wants until Bill and Hillary are in jail.

Can I come to your house and kill your kids because there are unsolved murders out there? Do I get a free pass?

Biased, blinkered, hypocritical little nazis.MAGA

Tue, 12/18/2018 - 11:25

Trump FoundationAgrees To Dissolve Amid A "ShockingPattern Of Illegality"

Posted by: AGelbert

“A potential revolutionary situation exists in any country where the government consistently fails in its obligation to ensure a least a minimally decent standard of life for the great majority of its citizens." You will never guess who wrote this in 1961. BUT, when you find out, if you are a CAPITALIST "might is right" IDEOLOGUE, you will stubbornly (and erroneously) pretend it is only true in China, while ignoring the FACT that it is much more applicable in Europe and the USA today.

Posted by: AGelbert

International climate negotiations have failed to curb runaway greenhouse gas emissions. Consumer-focused solutions to climate change won't be enough to address the systemic nature of the crisis. So what do we do to halt global warming? Simon Pirani, author of Burning Up:A Global History ofFossil Fuel Consumption, discusses the prospects for transitioning to a post-fossil fuel world.

Port of Los Angeles On Track to Surpass 9 Million TEU This Year, But November Volumes Down

December 14, 2018 by Mike Schuler

Port of Los Angeles. Photo: trekandshoot / Shutterstock.com

America’s busiest container port, the Port of Los Angeles, processed 832,331 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in November 2018 putting it on track to once again surpass 9 million TEUs this year.

November marked the fifth consecutive month volumes exceeded 800,000 TEUs and tthe sixth busiest month in the 👀 Port’s history.

Compared to November 2017, however, November 2018 imports decreased 8.8 percent to 422,793 TEUs while exports also fell 14.3 percent to 152,527 TEUs. Exports of empty containers decreased 9.1 percent to 257,011 TEUs. Combined, November overall volumes were 832,331 TEUs, a 9.9 percent decrease compared to last year.

Last November’s 924,256 TEUs were an all-time record until it was surpassed in October 2018.

Year-to-date through November, overall volumes are 8,555,490 TEUs, nearly the same volumes compared to 2017 when the Port set an all-time annual cargo record.

“In November, we processed a number of high-volume vessels brought into service to facilitate the holiday season cargo surge and accommodate the push to import cargo before tariffs that were previously scheduled to increase on January 1st,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “As we enjoy the holiday season, I’m grateful to all of our labor workforce, customers and stakeholders for the role they play in moving such a high volume of trade. As 2019 approaches, we are committed to tackling the challenges and seizing the opportunities that await.”

The Eleonora Maersk, calling at the Port’s APM Terminals, set a new North American container handling record for a single cargo vessel with the off-loading and then loading of 27,846 TEUs.

November cargo volumes at neighboring Port of Long Beach rose to 621,835 TEU, a 1.5 percent increase compared to November 2017, which puts it on track to break its 7.5 million TEU record set in 2017. According to Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero, recent container trends, such as the growth of imports relative to exports and the large number of unloaded containers, illustrate how the higher tariffs imposed this year by the United States and China have impacted the flow of commerce.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMThe Thom Hartmann Program is the leading progressive political talk radio show for political news and comment about Government politics, be it Liberal or Conservative, plus special guests and callers

ABOUT THE PROGRAMThe Thom Hartmann Program is the leading progressive political talk radio show for political news and comment about Government politics, be it Liberal or Conservative, plus special guests and callers

Posted by: AGelbert

Many of the Yellow Vests have flat-out rejected Macron's proposals, according to European-Views.

He is trying to do a pirouette to land back on his feet but we can see that he isn’t sincere, that it’s all smoke and mirrors,” said Jean-Marc, a car mechanic as a gathering of some 150 Yellow Vests in the southern town of Le Boulou.

“It’s just window dressing, for the media, some trivial measures, it almost seems like a provocation,” said Thierry, 55, a bicycle mechanic.

“All this is cinema, it doesn’t tackle the problems of substance. “We’re really wound up, we’re going back to battle,” he told AFP before taking part in blocking the Boulou turnpike on the French-Spanish border.

“Maybe if Macron had made this speech three weeks ago, it would have calmed the movement, but now it’s too late. For us, this speech is nonsense,” said Gaetan, 34, one of the “Rennes Lapins Jaunes” (Yellow Rabbits of Rennes).

One 35-year-old French official said that Macron "is being held hostage so he drops some crumbs."

Notice Macron's age, when he became a senior civil servant - 27 years of age. That’s important. The French elites are young men and women, who have been told that they are not just the intellectual creme de la creme, but morally superior. Better human beings, than their inferiors.These people are arrogant. But they are also ignorant. Raised in very wealthy families and cosseted in the networks those families are part of, they have no understanding of ordinary people and their real lives. Arrogance and ignorance is a very toxic mix. Macron’s tone-deaf appeal to climate change to justify the rise in diesel taxes, as well as his outrageous suggestion that ordinary French folk must drive less, is a classic example of the problem.

Just 27 years old. Young people without life experience, are suggestible. They believe what they are told by superiors and haven’t yet had time to test their opinions, against reality. Macron simply doesn’t have a clue.

What makes the gilets jaunes protests unique? Their main gripe? Elites blaming ordinary people, for problems that the same elites have caused. Elites never being held accountable for their incompetence. And elites never having to experience the conditions, that their failed ideas cause.

Posted by: AGelbert

Millions of French citizens have been violently demonstrating across France for the last month.

They are known as the gilets jaunes, or "yellow jackets". The protestors wear the yellow high-viz jacket, that is common on building sites and airports.

France: Understanding the Gilets Jaunes Uprising

by Rex

Mon, December 10, 2018

SNIPPET 1:The vast majority haven't been told the truth about life for ordinary citizens, in France. As a result, they don’t understand the significance of the violent ‘gilets jaunes’ protests across the country. Having lived in France for years, REX explains why these are the most important protests in France since 1968 - and likely a beacon for citizens all across Europe.

SNIPPET 2:In other words - why are millions of French citizens on the rampage, right now?

Because there’s a real France, that few ever see.

The France of the gilets jaunes. Or as we might label them, les deplorables.

And they are in a state of fury at a ruling class who not only let the population suffer, while enjoying a life of luxury and wealth, but who also blame ordinary people for their own suffering.

SNIPPET 3:

The French Ruling Class

Many still understand France through the lens of Vogue magazine covers: a nation of affluent, happy people who live in elegant homes, with endless holidays, wine and food.

A 24/7 utopia of chic, elegance and style.

Important to note: that France does exist. It is the world of the French ruling class, less than 1% of the population.

This small group of citizens have dominated the business, banking, legal and political scenes for decades.

The ruling class comes from a small group of grandes ecoles, or elite colleges. There are only 3 or 4. The top of the top? L’Ecole d’Administration Nationale (ENA).

Emmanuel Macron’s journey is typical of the ruliing class. He completed a Master's of Public Affairs at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (called "Sciences Po"), the #2 elite college, before graduating from ENA in 2004, age 27. He then worked as a senior civil servant at the Inspectorate General of Finances (The Treasury), before getting a high paid gig ad an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque.

See how fast Macron worked his way into the senior civil servant position in the Treasury, before flipping into an exclusive investment bank? That is normal in France. It's a never-ending protected cycle of patronage, promotion, favors and cronyism.

Agelbert NOTE: IOW, it's the CAPITALISM, stupid!

Quote

"Capitalist ideology claims that the world is perfectly ordered and everybody is in their place (i..e. everybody gets what they deserve). This self legitmating aspect of Capitalism is Socially Catastrophic. This is the Victorian view of the world." Rob Urie - Author " Zen Economics"

Proverbs 1 KJV31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

This week’s episode of Economic Update is a little different from the usual program. Professor Wolff begins by explaining the economics behind the great U.S. anti-leftist purge (“McCarthyism”) after 1945. It then shows the economic impacts of that purge over the last half century.

In the second half, Prof. Wolff explains how that history produced a very different political response to the crash of 2008 compared to FDR’s response in 1929.

Posted by: AGelbert

"Let the American people go into their debt-funding schemes and banking systems, and from that hour their boasted independence will be a mere phantom." ~William Pitt, (referring to the inauguration of the first National Bank in the United States under Alexander Hamilton).

“The new law will create inflation whenever the trusts want inflation. From now on depressions will be scientifically created.” ~Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh, after the passage of the Federal Reserve act 1913.

“The one aim of these financiers is world control by the creation of inextinguishable debt.” ~Henry Ford

“In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.” ~Ezra Pound

"The true equation is 'democracy' = government by world financiers...The main mark of modern governments is that we do not know who governs, de facto any more than de jure. We see the politician and not his backer; still less the backer of the backer; or what is most important of all, the banker of the backer. Enthroned above all, in a manner without parallel in all past, is the veiled prophet of finance, swaying all men living by a sort of magic, and delivering oracles in a language not understanded [sic] of the people." ~J.R.R. Tolkien, Candour Magazine, 13 July 1956, p. 12

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Quote

Since the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, many countries overtly rig their stock markets including Japan and China. This type of activity can be effective in the short term, but if equities markets are artificially inflated, the bubble will eventually burst. 💣

Posted by: AGelbert

"There is here I think a fundamental disconnect between that what is rational for the private banker, from the point of view of their shareholders, and their solvency, from that which is rational for society" -- Adair Turner

Posted by: AGelbert

The title of Gundlach’s talk was taken from a 1925 book of short stories by Ernest Hemmingway with the same name. Gundlach cited quotes from that book to illustrate points during his talk. One of those quotes was, “Scared sick to look at it,” which Gundlach said was a fitting reference to some aspects of the global economy.

Why Gundlach Is "Scared Sick" Of The Global Economy

by Tyler Durden

Wed, 12/12/2018 - 09:19

SNIPPET:

Gundlach returned to a theme from prior webcasts, which is the correlation between global central-bank balance sheets and the performance of equity markets. As central banks have tightened their monetary policies, equity returns have been the victims.

He said that 75% to 80% of global markets are in a “death cross” pattern, where 50-day moving average has fallen below the 200-day moving average.

Gundlach predicted in January that the S&P 500 would show a loss in 2018 and, with stocks near unchanged for the year, he reiterated that prediction. He added that 90% of asset classes have negative year-to-date returns, which is the highest such percentage since 1900.

south40_dreamsI've been scared sick every day since I first saw through this charade 33 years ago.

bunnyswanson Only solution I can come up with is a reversal of the transfer of wealth. The choice is send 100 thousand financiers into the poor house or send 7 billion into the poor house. Being dirt poor without an escape will drive people crazy. Crazy people do crazy things. It would take a century to undo the damage of a global deflation of this Ponzi scheme. Therefore, a reversal of fortune is the only solution.

batman 11Adair Turner has looked at the situation prior to the crisis where advanced economies were growing by 4 - 5%, but the debt was rising at 10 – 15%.

This always was an unsustainable growth model; it had no long term future.

Debt fuelled boom Minsky moment (e.g. 1929 / 2008) Balance sheet recession (stagnation / new normal / secular stagnation) Japan was the canary in the mine that no one noticed; the US, UK, Euro-zone and China have all done the same thing.

batman 11

Neoclassical economics is as bad as it’s always been.

The 1920s roared with debt based consumption and speculation until it all tipped over into the debt deflation of the Great Depression.

No one realized the problems that were building up in the economy as they used an economics that doesn’t look at private debt, neoclassical economics.

Posted by: AGelbert

LawsofPhysicsLOL! Talking about "prices" in the absence of a mechanism for true price discovery is a fool's errand.

Everyone has been admitting for 10+ years now that the world's "markets" are being managed by central banks and the financier/ownership class!!!!

there is no "market" for ****'s sake, stop pretending there is.

Place you damn bets, but stop being such disingenuous ***** and talking your books/bets.

nonutnDJ was down over 500 and recovered some. PPT to the rescue.

CashMcCallTrump : "The stock market loves my trade economic policies"

2018 Worst performing stock markets in a decade.

RapunzalIt’s all planned by the ruling class, our banking elites. They will use the FED and Trumps “Trade Wars” as an excuse. As expected. All a show until it isn’t.

NoDebtYou mean to tell me that an index loaded to the brim with negative-profit, negative-cashflow companies trading at div/0 PE levels based on a slick story about future billions in profits, a strategy that failed spectacularly in 2001, would suffer larger declines when the **** hits the fan than other indexes?

Get the **** outta here. No way.

Buzzsaw99

...and completely dependent upon chinese slave labor which is now becoming wildly unpopular on all fronts in the usa.

Bokenrijder

Quote

Who could have seen that coming?

I can see the PPT & a Powell-Put standing by to save the day/year.

Cash is King With Pres. Trump 🦀 breaking Powell’s balls publicly I can imagine he might be a bit slow to take the call.

The day PT took credit for this market (after calling it a huge bubble while running) I knew that was going to be the end of his run.

Swmnguy Yep.

Candidate Trump, the early version, I found interesting other than the pandering to racists. He actually said something that needed to be said and are verboten in official US politics.

Late-campaign Candidate Trump, and all of President Trump, has been utterly worthless. It's been the intellectual bankruptcy of the very dumbest or most-cynical Republicans, tied to the moral bankruptcy and utter lack of mental discipline of Donald Trump.

Even by modern US standards, that's a fetid concoction.

Agelbert NOTE: If you do not know what the abbreviation, "PPT", stands for, you do not understand how the stock markets in the USA have been RIGGED since 1987. Here's a brief summary:

Quote

Plunge Protection Team - PPT

REVIEWED BY INVESTOPEDIA STAFF Updated Mar 11, 2018

DEFINITION of Plunge Protection Team - PPT

The "Plunge Protection Team" (PPT) is a colloquial name given to the Working Group on Financial Markets. The PPT was originally created to provide financial and economic recommendations in the wake of turbulent market times. Members of the team are the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

BREAKING DOWN Plunge Protection Team - PPT

The name PPT was coined by The Washington Post in 1997. Although the team had a viable purpose when initially created, conspiracy theorists suspected that the team was created to shore up, or even manipulate, the markets. Some suspected that the team could executing trades on several exchanges and manipulate the markets when they were heading downward. The team was believed to collaborate only with big banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to report only to the President, and to keep no records of trades.

The Creation of the Plunge Protection Team

In 1989, the then President, Ronald Reagan, created the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets after two stressful events, the stock market crash in 1987 and the near-crash in 1989. The group acted as an advisory group on the markets for the president and regulators. However, others suspected the group to be capable of more nefarious activity and possibly capable of rigging the stock market in turbulent times. This theory was further strengthened when Robert Heller, a former governor of the Federal Reserve, gave a speech confirming suspicions surrounding the working group.

The Plunge Protection Team at Work?

On Monday February 5, 2018, the Dow Jones experienced a drop that was twice as large as its biggest point decline in history. However, arbitrary and aggressive buying cut the decline in half in one day. On the Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, stocks opened lower, and each time aggressive buying buoyed the markets. Heller suggested that the Federal Reserve purchased stock index futures contracts to stop a market collapse. He also believes that because the Fed already rigs the bond market through securities purchases, the stock market is easy to control.

Similar activity was noted during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 when telephone calls between then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Wall Street actors were recorded on days when the stock market was tanking and a downward spiral required reversal.

Since the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, many countries overtly rig their stock markets including Japan and China. This type of activity can be effective in the short term,but if equities markets are artificially inflated, the bubble will eventually burst.